After the Awakening
by Richard Ryley
Summary: Another continuation of an MZephyr story, this time "Waking Up". Just a few silly ideas I had for the next couple of days.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Notes:

I was fascinated by the concept of MZephyr's story, "Waking Up". At first, I thought of maybe rewriting the story, extending it, and possibly making it more dramatic, with Ranma and Akane being partially cured, before having a relapse and having to fight to see through the delusions and not fall back into their old pattern of insults and arguments. After a while, though, I settled for just writing up a few additional scenes that came to me, as a sort of sequel.

If you don't want to have major events of "Waking Up" spoilered, you should read that story before this one. I do jump right into the story without even giving as much time for suspension of disbelief as the original did, but later on I do try to give my own take on addressing some of the "flaws" in the concept. In the end, though, you either buy it or you don't.

I freely admit that quite a few scenes in this fanfic are simply stolen (not word for word, just the concepts) from other sources. The scene with Shampoo, Ranma and Akane joking around in the family room comes from "Genma's Daughter", while the pictures I threw in because I so liked the way they were used in Kirinin's "Akane". The "feeding each other" scene may also have been inspired by Trent O'Donoghue's "Meeting Later", although I'm more blatant about it being a romantic gesture instead of a competition.

I don't think this really adds much to MZephyr's original story. In fact, except for a bit near the end, this is pure WAFF. I am not responsible for any cavities which reading this may cause. :) Also, I wasn't trying to say anything with Shampoo flirting with Nabiki. It was just fun, and fit with Shampoo's playful (and somewhat more intelligent) personality.

* * *

"After the Awakening"

by Richard Ryley

based on "Waking Up" by MZephyr

Chapter 1

Ranma darted into his bedroom, almost shivering with excitement, blushing deeply, and with his heart hammering in his chest. He quickly closed the door behind him, then set about pulling off the clothes he had so frantically rushed to put on. He tried vainly to recover some sense of control over himself, but somehow felt that the silly grin plastered across his face would be stuck there forever.

He had just spent the night with the most beautiful girl in existence. He had pledged his love to the one girl he had ever truly wanted, and who had finally revealed that she loved him in return. And oh, how she had revealed that to him... Another shiver ran through his body as a few memories of their night together flashed across his mind.

And then, to be caught by her father the next morning! But while he had cowered in the corner, ashamed and embarrassed, Akane had stood up for him. She told her father, right to his face, that she loved him, and trusted him, and knew that he would never hurt her. That she was the one who had asked him to spend the night with her. Akane, the girl who, up until three days ago, continually insisted that she would never let a pervert like him touch her. The girl that HE had insisted, up until three days ago, was nothing but a flat-chested, violent, short-tempered, uncute tomboy whose cooking was like a toxic waste spill.

Oh, it wasn't that he didn't see that she was attractive. No, she was beautiful, and in the privacy of his own thoughts, he had to admit that to himself. She was the most incredible girl he had ever seen, with that short cropped, blue-black hair that so fit her athletic personality, those huge, chocolate brown eyes that seemed so alive whenever she was angry, and that incredible smile, which still made his heart skip beats in his chest every time he saw it. She could be so sweet, so gentle and so tender... he found out just how tender last night... and yet she was strong and independent and never backed away from any challenge.

Yet, somehow, he had been compelled to call her names, insult her, put her down, and deny that he had fallen madly in love with her. She was his fiancee, and yet he had fought the engagement as if it was worse than a death sentence. And she had fought it as well, saying that he was a freak and a pervert, flying into jealous rages if he so much as looked at another girl, and pounding him with such strength that it sent him flying through the stratosphere as if propelled like a missile.

Now it all seemed all too incredible to be real. And it wasn't, he knew, it was some sort of mass hallucination that they had all been experiencing for the past two years. Three days ago the "spell" had been broken, and slowly they all started to come out of its effects. Suddenly, Ranma had realized that he wasn't a superhuman martial artist with the ability to fire blasts of chi from his hands and leap tall fences in a single bound. And Akane wasn't a brutishly strong boy hater who flew into berserk rages at the drop of a hat, and produced meals that were a biological hazard. Instead, they were just two normal teenagers, or at least, as normal as two seventeen year olds with black belts could be.

The craziest part was his own belief that, for the last two years, he had been under a curse which caused him to turn into a girl. Cold water would change his gender, and hot water would turn him back. It seemed so real at the time, and he could almost swear than he knew what it FELT like to be female, to have the weight of breasts on his chest, and to experience the... um... problems... of a woman. Or so he thought, maybe it was just something that he was only thinking of now, looking back on the things he had experienced. Or her, anyway.

It all seemed like some sort of dream that was, even now, rapidly fading. He still remembered it all vividly, but there was so much of it that didn't make sense, that didn't seem logical. Or even CLOSE to reasonable, in the cold light of day. Were his memories of the last two years even in the right order, and as set and constant as he believed them to be? So much seemed to have happened that he didn't think it could all fit in two years. It was almost like time had sped up, or kept repeating itself.

Having finished taking off his clothes from the night before, Ranma quickly picked out something to wear. It was Sunday, so at least he didn't have to start worrying about getting a school uniform. He hoped he could get away with it for a few more days, at least, but figured he should try and pick some uniforms up during the week. Everyone in Nerima was recovering, and although they were acting fairly normal, it would take a while to get adjusted to the new lives they were all leading. So Principal Kuno (who was acting strangely normal as well) would probably give him enough time.

Ranma was starting to get his breathing under control, but it caught in his throat at a memory of Akane's body. This was going to take some getting used to as well. He knew they had loved each other for a long time. With whatever had effected him gone, his thinking was much clearer. The little signs Akane would give him that she cared about him were much more obvious now. But to go from, as far as he knew, hating each other to not just boyfriend and girlfriend, but... lovers? They would have to get married soon, he didn't think he could hold out much longer. He had never wanted anything so badly. But of course, in the cold light of day he also knew they had to wait and graduate from high school first.

He couldn't fight the blush as he thought about how aggressive Akane had been last night. She had been the one to ask him to stay, had reassured him when he protested, and even managed to produce the... well, condoms. He could say it, maybe not out loud, but in his thoughts anyway. They really had no idea what they were doing, and there were some awkward moments that left them tangled up in each other and giggling madly, but finally they got it right.

That seemed like a dream, too, only it was real. He had denied his feelings for her for so long that now that whatever it was no longer effected him, he just couldn't hold back any more. And he didn't want to hold back. It almost seemed like he should be worried, like Akane was a whole new person now, and he shouldn't know anything about her. But he DID know her, he knew her now better than he had ever known her before. It was like the veil had been lifted, and what he had always sensed was there, just under the surface, turned out to be the real Akane. The one he had known and loved the whole time.

He hoped that she felt the same way.

He stepped out the door to his room to find her waiting there for him. She dropped her eyes shyly, aware that he knew she was waiting for him. But, she timidly took his hand. "Do you want to spar again this morning?" Akane asked him hopefully, still somewhat unsure about whether he was still going to take her training seriously.

Ranma smiled widely at her insecurity. "Of course, Akane, I said I would, didn't I? I need a partner anyway, with Pop not around any more." He kissed her gently. "And I can't think of anyone I'd rather spar with than you."

Her eyes twinkled as she wrapped her arms around him in an enthusiastic hug. They headed downstairs and to the dojo, where they again pushed each other to their limits. It was good that they were so evenly matched, Ranma decided, it kept his skills sharpened, while at the same time helping Akane to build up her confidence. He wondered why it had ever been so important to him that he be so much better than her, and why he had resisted training her for so long. That was just their shared delusion, though, and really, there was not that much more than he could teach Akane that he didn't still need to learn himself.

As with their sparring match the day before, though, Ranma found his mind distracted. It wasn't the memories of their true selves returning, though, it was memories of how beautiful Akane was under that gi. And as she moved, he kept catching little glimpses of her skin, which would send a thrill through his body. Akane was having trouble concentrating as well, he could tell, and he kept catching her giving him appraising glances, with the occasional lustful sigh.

Finally, she left herself open for an attack, and Ranma darted in to grapple with her. Before he knew it, he had wrapped her arms around her, and suddenly didn't want to let go. Turning a little to draw her even closer to him, Ranma leaned down and kissed her soft lips.

Akane gave a moan of pleasure, her eyes closing as she returned the kiss. Their sparring was quickly forgotten, as Akane began to stroke her hands across the muscles of his back. Ranma returned the favor, sliding his hand up between them to caress her shoulders. Then he worked his hand inside of her gi, and cupped the softness that he found hidden there.

"Oh, Ranma," Akane breathed. "I can't stop thinking about... you know. Last night." She cast her eyes up at him, blushing.

"I know. I can't either." Ranma began to kiss her again, still caressing her, causing her to gasp against his lips. Then he gazed at her uncertainly as she looked into his eyes. "Did... um... was it good... for you?"

Akane chuckled, her eyes sparkling. "Oh, Ranma. How cliche'. Of course it was good for me." She kissed him again.

Ranma blushed. "Well... I mean, I know you... you asked me to stay and all. But I kinda figured you were saving it... um, for your wedding night. You know, like you wanted it to be special."

He bit his lip, embarrassed. "Was it... special?"

Akane kissed him, deeply. "It was everything I hoped it would be, Ranma. And I still hope that our first night together... you know, as husband and wife... is pretty special too. But I just didn't want to wait any more. I had waited long enough and... well, all of a sudden, it just didn't matter."

Her expression then turned unsure, and she looked up at him, her own blush deepening. "Um... what about..." She looked down at his chest, stroking his muscles with her hand. "Did I... make it good... um..."

Ranma decided to let her off the hook. "It was wonderful, Akane. You're wonderful. I think it's adorable the way you doubt yourself like that, but don't." He smiled at her. "You're the sexiest thing I've ever seen, and the best martial artist, too. You couldn't be more beautiful to me."

Akane's eyes lit up, and the biggest smile Ranma had ever seen spread over her face. She squealed in delight, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly. Too tightly, almost, she forced the breath out of him. Ranma still laughed, despite himself, and then turned his attention back to kissing and caressing her.

Before he could really start to enjoy it, though, he heard Kasumi clear her throat. He looked up to find her standing in the doorway to the dojo, with a slight smile on her face. Akane gave a yelp of surprise, and let go of Ranma, and Ranma found himself involuntarily stepping away from her as well. Both teenagers blushed deeply, and looked away from each other.

"Um... It's not what it looks like!" Ranma began.

"Oh? Why, it is obvious that you and Akane are practicing your grappling holds," Kasumi said innocently. "What did you think it looks like?"

"Um... um..." Ranma blushed even deeper, looking down at the floor. His throat totally closed up, and he couldn't answer if he had wanted to.

Kasumi burst out laughing. "I am just kidding. Of course I knew what you were doing, and I don't mind at all. I couldn't be happier for the both of you. It's about time."

Her expression then turned to mock anger. "However... you two missed breakfast this morning, and I didn't save any for you. Obviously, you had other things on your minds, but if you're not going to help with the breakfast, then I'm not going to put myself out preparing enough for you. Especially you, Ranma..."

Ranma glanced at Akane, who blushed, but met Kasumi's eyes with confidence. "Actually... Ranma and... I mean, I slept in this morning, and didn't really feel like breakfast. Since Ranma has agreed to spar with me, I just wanted to get started as soon as I could. I figured we could spar until lunch, when we'd both have worked up an appetite."

Kasumi's eyes twinkled. "Oh, and you two didn't get enough of a workout last night?"

This silenced Akane, who looked down at the floor, her face turning as red as a beet. Kasumi just giggled, however. "It's okay, Imoto, I understand. Father is still quite upset, but as I said, I'm happy for you. I'm honestly surprised that you were able to hold out so long."

"It's true that while all this... strangeness was going on, I might have been somewhat concerned about the two of you acting 'properly'." She grinned widely. "But I don't care about that at all any more. In fact, I hope that Tofu and I will soon have some measure of the love that you two feel for each other. I think it's time I stopped trying to act like the proper Japanese woman, and started to do what is best for Kasumi. What makes Kasumi happy."

"I hope so too, Kasumi," Ranma said. He wasn't quite over his embarassment, but managed a sheepish smile. "You two deserve it."

"Well, lunch is almost ready. So unless you are too busy with each other, come on in the house." She smiled over her shoulder as she turned to leave. "You don't have to hurry."

Akane drew Ranma closer to her, hugging him. "We'll be in in just a minute, Oneechan. Thanks."

Kasumi nodded and started to walk out of the dojo, but stopped at the door. "Oh, and Akane, do be sure to adjust your top before you leave. I can see that Ranma left a very large hickey on your breast last night."

With a loud squeal of embarrassment, Akane looked down, and quickly closed her gi. Ranma laughed, which earned him a playful punch on the shoulder. The two returned to their sparring, while Kasumi walked out of the dojo, smiling to herself.

* * *

Some minutes later, Ranma and Akane walked together into the family room, where they sat down at the table for lunch. Nabiki and their father Soun were already at the table, Soun involved in his paper, and Nabiki intently studying a magazine. She did favor Ranma and Akane with a mischievous grin. She didn't say anything, but her knowing look made Ranma wonder just how much she had overheard. The wall between their bedrooms WAS awfully thin...

Soun, in the meantime, kept glaring at him. Ranma knew he was upset about they way he discovered them this morning, but chose not to meet his eyes. After a moment, Kasumi brought in their plates, and Ranma and Akane began eating, not talking, but glancing at each other and blushing. This continued for several minutes, with the two teenagers seeking out each other's eyes and staring for a few seconds, before reluctantly returning to their food.

After a while, though, Ranma began to sense something missing. He realized what it was almost immediately, his father was not there stealing food off his plate. In fact, although Ranma was not really eating with the speed he seemed to demonstrate in the past, he was moving pretty fast, and it was almost making him choke. He began to slow the rate at which he shoveled the food into his mouth, and try to enjoy it. Kasumi's cooking, as usual, was very good, and he wondered why he had never slowed down to appreciate it.

He began to slow down even further, though, almost stopping eating altogether. His Pop hadn't been there upstairs when he got up, either, and he kind of missed that they didn't have their usual spar by the pond. Of course, Pop had moved in with his mother, and he had his own life now, with Akane. He had chosen to stay with her, and she had insisted he stay as well, even though their engagement had turned out to be false. Of course, now he had Akane to spar with, but in a way he missed his Old Man.

He leaned a bit closer to Akane, feeling his loneliness easing a bit from having her near. She was leaning towards him as well, almost unconsciously, although she was busy eating her breakfast and not looking at him. Except for the occasional hungry look she would give him, that had nothing to do with her food. Ranma studied her for a moment, a memory flashing across his mind that took his breath away. He blushed deeply and looked back at his food, but still picked at it. Akane stole another glance at him, blushing as well, but a bit of concern showed in her face as she noticed that he wasn't eating.

Something didn't feel right. Soun was still glaring at him, and Nabiki had looked up as well, noticing that he had slowed down eating. It was all for the best, actually, Kasumi had only served him about half of what she used to, which Ranma suspected was her subtle way of saying, "You're not a freeloader any more, you won't eat as much of our food as you used to." He didn't mind that, though. As Akane looked over at him again, her eyes worried, he smiled at her.

It was the fact that everyone was looking at them. At him, and Akane. The whole family knew what they had done, he could tell, and Ranma felt his blush grow deeper. He was here because Akane had insisted on it. They had shared something, something special last night, and... well, they weren't really fighting any more, not like they used to, and yet still, this scene just didn't feel right.

"What's the matter?" Akane asked. "Is something wrong? It's okay, isn't it?"

Kasumi looked worried as well, thinking she had somehow messed up the meal. It was Soun still glaring at him that bothered Ranma the most, though. Suddenly, an image from a TV show he had seen flashed across his brain, and without really thinking about it, he decided to try it.

"No, no, it's delicious." Ranma said. Scooping up a bit of the rice on his chopsticks, he held it up to Akane. "Want to try some?"

Akane's eyes widened in astonishment. It was the reaction of the rest of the family that made Ranma grin inwardly, though. Nabiki's mouth fell open. Soun looked like his eyebrows were going to crawl right off the top of his head. And Kasumi... well, Kasumi just did the usual thing, and muttered, "Oh, my."

As she noticed the look in Ranma's eyes, and realized he was watching the rest of the family at the table, she stole a glance back at her father. Then she curled her lips in a smirk of mischief. "Sure, Ranma," she said, and opened her mouth for him. Ranma placed the bit of food in her mouth, and she closed her lips around the chopsticks.

Akane slowly chewed, then swallowed. "You're right, Ranma. It is good." She turned back to her own meal, but Ranma found himself unable to think for a moment. The sight of her lips had so mesmerised him that he just stared at her. Finally, though, he turned back to his own bowl.

"Would you like to try some of mine?" Akane asked. There was that hint of mischief in her voice, and she cast her eyes over at him, knowingly. With a nod, Ranma opened his mouth, and Akane fed him a morsel with her own chopsticks.

They continued like this for a few minutes, interrupting their own meal to ask the other to "try" a particular vegetable or to comment on how good the sauce was. Eventually, they just stopped pretending altogether and started feeding each other. Soun, by this time, had submerged himself behind his paper, and it looked very much like he was blushing. Kasumi, however, was grinning ear to ear.

Akane's bowl was finished first, as she had less than Ranma. So, they both began to finish off Ranma's remaining rice. Neither bothered to eat themselves, they just both fed the other. Finally, Nabiki grouchily commented, "This is so sweet I think I'm going to get cavities."

Both teenagers burst into giggles as they finished off the meal. Akane leaned up to kiss her fiance' on the cheek. "Thank you, Ranma." She then turned to the other family members at the table. "Now, can I assume there is not going to be any more staring, or questions about Ranma and my personal lives? We do want to get married," Akane took Ranma's hand at this, and he squeezed it, although he still swallowed a little, "but not until after the end of the school year at least."

"You sure you don't want to put it off longer than that?" Nabiki asked with a knowing smirk. "I assume my... little gift to you a couple of months ago came in handy."

Akane blushed hotly, but regarded her sister evenly. "That is none of your business. Although of course Ranma and I are being careful." Ranma swallowed even harder at this, and Soun suddenly found something interesting to catch his attention in the paper. Akane met Ranma's eyes, though, and seemed to be seeking his approval as she asked him. "We do want to get married fairly soon, right, Ranma?"

Ranma managed a smile, hoping it seemed strong and confident. In any case, it wasn't forced. "I can't think of anything better than spending the rest of my life with you, Akane."

That dazzling smile crossed her face again, and Akane gave him another impromptu kiss. "Thank you, Ranma." She turned back to the others. "Does August sound about right?"

The discussion was interrupted by a sound from the engawa. A startled voice, having just seen the kiss between Akane and Ranma, gave out a shocked "Bwee!" Everyone turned to look at the sound, and then the three females all turned as one to look back away. It was Ryoga, and he was stark naked, crouched on all fours just outside the open doors.

Ranma chuckled, standing up to both take off his shirt, and impose himself between the nude boy and the three blushing sisters. "Ryoga! Put some clothes on!"

"Bwee?" Ryoga asked, obviously looking at Ranma as if questioning why he should wear clothes. His expression suddenly turned to abject fear, however, as Akane suddenly gasped.

"Ryoga is P-Chan?" She said, turning the thought over in her mind. Obviously, it wasn't a question, it was obvious from the way Ryoga was acting that he believed himself to be the pig. But now, of course, his curse was revealed to be nothing but a delusion. A delusion that the rest of them no longer shared.

Ranma shoved aside his first thought, of why Ryoga had not been cured when the rest of them had, to deal with the bigger issue. Akane now knew he had lied to her. "I'm sorry, Akane! I wanted to tell you, really I did, but I made a promise to Ryoga! And it sounds really stupid right now, but at the time..."

The rest of the family were staring at Akane as well, and backing away as if to make room for the explosion. Nabiki, although shocked at this revelation, was sharp enough to notice her father did not seem overly surprised. If anything, he seemed to have suddenly realized concerns about the situation that had never occurred to him before, and was starting to glare at Ryoga. Ryoga, for his part, clearly knew the jig was up, and was about to bolt and run.

Ranma, steeling himself for what he knew was probably going to be the beating of his life, stepped closer to Akane to try and plead with her. He was just muttering, "I'm sorry, Akane..." when she surprised everyone by suddenly bursting into hysterical laughter.

Everyone continued to stare as Akane laughed, first bending over to wrap her arms around herself, then falling to the floor, unable to keep her balance. Ranma caught her, but this only made her laugh the harder. She pointed at Ranma, struggling to speak, but could not, and finally looked away, shaking her head. Her peals of laughter continued for several minutes more, until she finally found her voice.

"He... that's why you were always fighting with him! And when I must of carried him around..." She doubled over in uproarious laughter again. "Remember that first night, when I grabbed your breast? And you were in the furoba with him, in girl form!" She slapped her knee. "Oh, Kami, what that must have looked like! A guy thinking he's a girl, with another guy squealing like a pig!"

Despite himself, Ranma found a smile creeping onto his face. Akane met his eyes, with a look of love and bemused affection. "And that's why you fell into my bed. You were trying to get him out of there..."

Ranma shrugged, apologetically. "You're... not mad?"

"Oh, I'm mad, but..." She sighed, her momentary hysterics passing. "It's like I said. We all did a lot of things we'd like to forget." She glanced at Ryoga and frowned. "I don't think I want to think too deeply about what the reality must have been like, when..." she swallowed. "... When I thought I was sleeping with a pig."

Both Nabiki and Kasumi turned green at this comment. Kasumi, in fact, got a murderous look on her face for a moment. She finally seemed to decide Akane was right, though, and made a visible effort to calm down. Ryoga had been gaping at her in astonishment, and had forgotten to run, but now was eyeing the yard outside.

Ranma stepped forward to try and catch him, and Ryoga's expression suddenly turned angry. He made as if to lunge at him, but then backed away and turned to run out of the house. Before he could make his escape, though, Akane called out to him.

"Ryoga! Don't go, we need to talk to you." Her voice was not harsh, but firm enough that Ryoga could tell she meant business. He turned and looked at her. "I know you probably think I'm mad at you, too, and I haven't quite decided exactly what I'm going to do about what you've done, but..."

She paused a moment. "For now, I forgive you. Just... come on in, and let Ranma change you back and put some clothes on you." Blushing, she turned away from the naked boy. Ryoga wasn't sure why she kept doing that, or why none of the other girls would look at him, but he figured it was the revelation of his true identity. He couldn't think of any other reason they would be embarrassed at seeing a naked pig.

Ryoga growled, as if to say, "This is all Ranma's fault!" Ranma, however, eyed him with sympathy, not anger. "She's right, Ryoga. We've got something to tell you."

Still looking away from him, Akane agreed. "Go with him, Ryoga. I know how things must seem to you right now, but I swear, it's not what you think. There's a lot you don't understand..."

Ryoga looked back and forth between Ranma and Akane. He could see the difference in the way they were acting towards each other. That she had forgiven him so quickly was a sure sign that their relationship had changed. "Bwee?" He asked, eyeing Ranma accusingly.

Ranma glanced at Akane and then nodded. "Yes, Ryoga. We're getting along now. We've... we've decided to accept the engagement." That wasn't the whole story, but close enough.

The lost boy's face fell. He thought for a moment, looked between then two of them again, then gave a deep sigh. It wasn't like he hadn't given up on Akane long ago, when he decided to pursue Akari instead.

"It'll be okay," Ranma said, his voice still sympathetic. "You'll see. It's not nearly as bad as you think. In fact..." He glanced at Akane for a moment. "The way you think everything is so bad is probably part of how it's effected you."

"Yeah," Akane agreed. "Probably his getting lost, too. Or I hope so."

Ryoga looked up at them, suddenly interested. They had learned something about his always getting lost? Maybe this would be good news after all.

Ranma managed a grin. "Come on, P-Chan. You need a hot bath. Then we can talk."


	2. Chapter 2

"After the Awakening"

Chapter 2

Ranma led "P-chan" into the furoba, extremely reluctant to look at the naked boy, but at least Ryoga had followed him without protest. Ranma found it somehow fascinating that Ryoga was still convinced that he was a pig, even though Ranma could clearly see that he wasn't. Once near the tub, though, Ryoga made it clear he didn't believe he could make it over the side. Ranma shoved aside his discomfort enough to lift Ryoga by an arm, which apparently in his delusion made Ryoga believe he had been hefted high into the air.

Thus, Ranma watched the change carefully, as Ryoga first struggled as he got into the tub, then suddenly straightened himself out as if growing into his "real" body. His first words as he regained his tongue were predictable.

"Ranma Saotome, prepare to die!"

Ranma shook his head. "Oh, put a cork in it, pig boy. You and I both should be happy Akane's this understanding about it."

"You broke your promise between men! You told Akane my secret!"

"I did not!" Ranma shot back, for a moment forgetting the delusion was all a shared fantasy. "I called you Ryoga when you were P-Chan plenty of times, and Akane never got it before! And everyone else saw who you really were, too. It wasn't just her." Ranma frowned, then sighed. "Look, we've got a lot to talk about."

"This is just another one of your tricks to ruin my life!" Ryoga protested. "I'm not going to listen to your lies, and I'm not going to let you trick Akane with whatever..."

Ranma backhanded Ryoga across the face. Ryoga was so shocked by the unexpected move that he just froze, putting a hand to his face. Ranma paused a moment, then smirked at him.

"Believe it or not, I'm not trying to ruin your life, Ryoga. You're a really good friend, and someone I care about and trust a great deal. And although you don't realize it, I've done a lot for you, and you've done a lot for me. You're the closest thing I've got to a best friend. So I'm not going to give that up just out of spite or petty jealousy."

Ryoga's mouth fell open. Ranma grinned at him, while the lost boy regarded him suspiciously. "Who are you, and what have you done with Ranma?"

Ranma's smile widened. "I'm still Ranma, although some things have changed. But that's part of what I have to talk to you about. See, everything that you believe to be true isn't real. Me cursing you at Jusenkyo, me being a great martial artist - well, I'm still a great martial artist, but not THAT great - Akane being an uncute tomboy who loses her temper all the time, the Amazons, and Ucchan, all of it... it's not real."

"I haven't really ruined your life. You don't really turn into a pig, and I'm betting you don't really get lost all the time, either. This whole thing about you being my rival and wanting to defeat me, it's probably part of this whole big delusion. Which means that you DON'T really want to defeat me all the time. You're probably just somebody who could be a really good friend. Once we get you cured of this thing like the rest of us, anyway."

"Wait... what are you trying to tell me?" Ryoga eyed him carefully. "That the Jusenkyo curses are some sort of delusion? And I suppose if I splash you with cold water you won't turn into a girl."

"Nope." Ranma grinned widely. "I'm cured. Or, well, I would be if I had ever been cursed in the first place."

"You're lying! The curses are no delusion, I was a pig not a few seconds ago!"

"Actually, no, you weren't. That's just it, Akane and the others figured it out because they could see you in your true form. You were Ryoga." At this, Ranma's expression turned sheepish. "A naked Ryoga."

"I won't hear any more of your lies!" Ryoga yelled, suddenly standing up. He dropped into a fighting stance. "You're trying to trick me, and I'm not going to fall for it!" He started to swing at Ranma, who darted out of his way.

Ranma quickly backed out of the bath to grab Ryoga's clothes. "I'm not going to fight you without your clothes on, so here." He tossed the bundle to Ryoga, which quickly put them on. "And I'm not lying to you. Come on, we can go talk to Akane and the others, they'll back me up."

"This is some sort of trick to fool Akane. You're rude to her and mistreat her, and I'm not going to stand for it." Ryoga finally finished lacing up his leggings, and stood up to continue his fight. "Whatever your scheme is, I'll put a stop to it!"

Ranma dodged as Ryoga came at him, feeling out his skill level as he did. As Ranma expected, they were about equal. "Actually, you're right. I have been mean to Akane. But I'm not any more, and I don't plan to ever act like that again. I love her, and she loves me. And thank God without all this craziness effecting us, we can finally admit it to each other."

"You don't deserve her! You're an insensitive jerk! Take this!" Ryoga brought his hands together, and Ranma almost immediately recognized he was about to do a Shi Shi Hokudan. He almost moved to dodge it, at the last moment remembering that their chi attacks were all a delusion, too. Or at least, he hoped they were, just in case he prepared himself to leap in case he saw the telltale buildup of light.

Ryoga yelled out "Shi Shi Hokudan!" however, and extended his hands, clearly believing he was making the attack, but nothing happened. His look of triumph turned to astonishment as he realized Ranma had not even tried to dodge. "What? How did you... ? I hit you head on! It passed right through you!"

Ranma shook his head. "I told you, Ryoga. None of this is real. Neither the Shi Shi Hokudan or the Moko Takabisha really exist."

"Shi Shi Hokudan!" Ryoga yelled, trying the blast again. When it again seemed to pass through him without effect, he brought his finger down to poke at the floor in front of him. "Bakusai Tenketsu!" When that failed to budge Ranma, Ryoga snarled and fired off a Shi Shi Hokudan blast again.

Suddenly, Ryoga grinned widely. "THERE!" He yelled, with triumph in his voice. "I knew you were lying!"

Ranma looked around himself, confused. "What? What do you mean?"

Ryoga poked at Ranma's chest, right around his nipple. "You think I can't see those, Ranma-CHAN? I hit the sink with my Shi Shi Hokudan and sprayed you with water."

Despite himself, Ranma clutched his arms to his chest. "Wait. You see me as a girl?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it?" Ryoga was really grinning now. Ranma studied him for a moment, but it was clear Ryoga was convinced of what he was seeing.

"Wow. The delusion's that strong." Ranma shook his head. "Well, whatever I look like to you, if you've gotten that out of your system, why don't we go talk to Akane. If you won't believe me, maybe you'll believe her."

"Whatever you say, Ranma-chan." Smirking, Ryoga walked out of the washroom first, with Ranma following.

* * *

As the two boys came into the family room, Ryoga's smug expression faded as he saw Akane. She gestured him to sit at the table, though, and he reluctantly took a seat. "Did you explain it to him?" She asked Ranma.

Ranma nodded. "Yeah, but he doesn't believe me. It's not like I blame him, I've pulled some pretty lame tricks in the past. He just thinks this is another one."

Akane looked disappointed. "Oh. Maybe I can convince him."

"That's what I thought. He'll trust you a lot more than he does me."

She looked at Ryoga. "Ryoga, do you trust me?"

"Yeah..." Ryoga blushed a bit. "I know you wouldn't try to fool me, Akane." His expression turned stern. "But Ranma's trying to pull a fast one on you. I don't know what lies he's been telling you, but..."

Akane moved closer to sit next to Ryoga. She took both of his hands in hers, which made him blush deeply, and look away. "Ranma's not trying to fool me, Ryoga. I can see, with my own eyes. And I can feel... the feelings that I have for Ranma, and the changes in the way I've been feeling, the last few days. I know those feelings are real. It's like I'm waking up... and all the confusion and fears are just... fading away."

"No, no, you can't listen to him! Whatever he's saying, it's..."

"It's not a trick, Ryoga. Ranma and I thought it might be, too, at first. But then we began to realize that what we thought we remembered was too unbelievable to be true. There's no reason for me to be losing my temper like that all the time, and even if I did, I couldn't really punch someone into orbit..."

Ryoga stared intently into her eyes. "Ranma deserves for you to punch him! He's always trying to make fun of you! But I'll protect you, Akane. I won't let him hurt you."

Akane interrupted him, squeezing his hands a little tighter. She stared into his eyes for a moment. "You're... you're in love with me, aren't you?"

Ryoga blushed deeply, and looked away. After a moment, he swallowed, but found his voice. "I was... once. I... I've found Akari now, and I want to be true to her. But..." He looked back at Akane. "I still want to be there if you need me. And I want to protect you from HIM." He shot a glance at Ranma.

"Ryoga!" Akane interrupted again, squeezing Ryoga's hands. "Ranma's not like that any more. I love him, and I trust him. He doesn't insult me, or call me names, or put me down as a martial artist. He trains with me, and tells me he's proud of me, and he shows me that he cares about me. And I show him how I care about him, too..."

"You showed him that and plenty more last night," Nabiki muttered under her breath, with a mischievous grin.

Akane blushed deeply, and Ryoga turned to Nabiki. "What do you mean by that?"

Nabiki suddenly seemed to realize what she had just said, though, and blushed herself. "Nothing, nothing, I was just making a little joke, is all." She looked away, chagrined by the unexpected return of her old cynical side.

"A very little joke..." Akane snarled. She quickly recovered her composure for Ryoga's sake, though. "Ryoga, I'm very happy that you want to protect me like that. I'm sorry I didn't see it sooner. You've been protecting me, as P-chan, haven't you? You've always been a good friend."

"I've tried to be..." Ryoga blushed and looked down. "It's just... I never meant to..."

"We'll talk about that later, Ryoga. For now, that's past, and let's leave it in the past. But your past with Ranma is in the past too. So what I'm telling you is the truth. Ranma's not trying to pull some trick on me, and he's not trying to fool you, either. Everything you think you believe about Ranma, and me, and your curse... it's not real."

Ryoga shook his head. "You can't be telling me that the curses are just a delusion, like he's trying to." His frown deepened, and he gestured at Ranma. "The proof is right there! Ranma's still cursed, like he's always been! Like SHE'S always been!"

All eyes in the room turned on Ranma. "Ranma's in girl form?" Akane asked, somewhat startled.

"Yeah, he says he splashed me with water in the furoba. We were fighting, and he fired off some Shi Shi Hokudan blasts. Or so he says, and one hit the sink."

"Hm." Nabiki looked thoughtful. "Your curse has always made you a water magnet. You always seemed to be splashed in the most wierd or unlikely of ways. I guess it stands to reason that if you were fighting in a bathroom, one would expect you to get splashed."

"Maybe some of those times, when it was really unbelievable, you really weren't splashed," Akane put in.

"Look, I don't know what you did to avoid my Shi Shi Hokudans, but I know I hit the sink." Ryoga looked insulted. "You can't say I didn't."

Nabiki studied him for a moment. "Ryoga... if Ranma-chan was splashed with water, why aren't her clothes wet? You do see them as dry don't you?" Nabiki said this last as if she was not actually sure what Ryoga was seeing.

Ryoga studied Ranma for a moment, though. "She dried herself off in the furoba," he finally said.

Ranma shrugged. "You see? There's no convincing him. You can't just argue with him, because he's apparently still seeing what we were seeing."

"Hold on," Nabiki said. "I've got to test this. This could be interesting."

She quickly got up and went into the kitchen, while Akane again tried talking to Ryoga. "Okay, maybe you trust me, and maybe this is some trick by Ranma. Maybe we're the ones who are deluded and you're still okay. Either way, let me tell just you what's going on. From the way WE see it."

She took a deep breath. "About three days ago, Ranma and his father both realized they weren't cursed. We had no explanation for why that was, but we didn't question it. But I noticed that when they were sparring, they weren't leaping and using those superhuman techniques like always. Then on our way to school, Ranma fell off the fence. He couldn't remember how to fence walk, especially since there were barbs sticking up above the pole that he'd never noticed before.

"Then at school, everyone was... well, 'normal'. Principal Kuno wasn't acting crazy, our friends weren't harassing us and... well, Ranma and I seemed to be getting along." She glanced at Ranma, and he gave her a smile. Akane decided not to mention how they ended up holding hands as they walked home. "Anyway, on our way home, we ran into Happosai, then Shampoo, Mousse and Ukyo. All of them were not nearly as skilled as we remembered them, in fact, I was able to beat Shampoo easily."

Akane grinned widely at that memory. "Then it started raining, and Shampoo and Mousse were cured, too. Ranma and I went home, and decided to spar just to test each other out, and I actually found that I could keep up with Ranma! I thought at first he was holding back, but it turns out, I was as good as he was!"

"Almost as good as I was," Ranma said with a smirk.

"Shut up, baka, I'm telling the story." She grinned back at him, impishly. "I'll tell it like I want to."

"Anyway, Ranma realized he couldn't do his Moko Takabisha, or any of his chi techniques. We, um, well, we decided that somehow something was making us be normal. And we kind of... liked it. The next day, we started to remember some memories from our other lives, lives that we had forgotten. And we..." She looked down, blushing. "And we kind of decided we liked each other. It turns out, Ranma's dad and my father didn't even know each other, after all, and they tried to cancel the engagement. But by that time, Ranma and I decided we wanted to keep seeing each other..."

Ryoga was looking irritated by this, but he kept listening. "Anyway, everybody seemed to be changing. Kasumi was insisting everyone help out with the housework. Nabiki was renouncing her schemes and promising to pay everyone back their money. Ranma was being nice to me and sparring with me, and... well, I have to admit I didn't at all feel like hitting him or losing my temper with anyone. I didn't feel like I could knock anyone into orbit with my mallet, and didn't even WANT to..."

She looked down at her hands. "The mallet, too... it's not real. I can't... make it."

Ryoga seemed to be trying not to look like he was breathing a sigh of relief. Ranma couldn't resist the temptation, though. "Well, I'm sure glad of that! I know I'm not going to miss getting malleted by that violent tomboy."

Akane glanced at him, half irritated, but mostly amused. She started to bonk him on the head, but instead Ranma grabbed her arm, and pulled her to him. His arms went around her waist, and he stared into her eyes. "I like the cute, non-violent tomboy a lot better." He said, and kissed her.

Ryoga studied them for a moment, scowling. Ranma was a girl, and Akane was just... kissing her! But... he tried to see it their way. It was very obvious their relationship had changed, Akane had come out and said she loved Ranma, and the way Ranma had just spoken to her said it all. He wasn't being cruel or teasing, he had actually meant it, and Akane's eyes had lit up with happiness, even before she returned the kiss.

Either Akane wasn't bothered by the thought of kissing another girl, a thought which made Ryoga shudder in disgust, or... or she wasn't seeing a girl. And it wasn't like he didn't want to believe that the curses weren't real. But it just seemed so unbelievable. But didn't Akane just say that she felt that the curses were unbelievable? He tried to find any sign in Akane's eyes that she was seeing Ranma as a girl, and found none.

Nabiki had returned from the kitchen, and was watching him carefully. She seemed to be studying his expression, as if weighing whether or not his attitude had changed. "Did you see her mallet appearing? It looked like you didn't."

Ryoga seemed a bit surprised by the question, but shrugged. "I guess not."

"But you do see Ranma as a girl." She looked up at the couple, still kissing. "Hey, quit that and come sit down. I want to try something."

Reluctantly, Ranma let go of Akane, and came around the table. Nabiki gestured for him to sit down, between her and Ryoga. "Okay, Ryoga, watch carefully." She had brought a couple of glasses from the kitchen, and poured one over Ranma.

"Ow!" said Ranma, and shot an angry glance at Nabiki.

Nabiki ignored him. "So, Ryoga, what do you see?"

"I see Ranma, what else?"

She rolled her eyes. "In guy form or girl form, Ryoga?"

Ryoga snorted. "Guy form." Ranma turned and gave him a startled look, but Nabiki interrupted him.

"All right, the other glass." Nabiki took the second glass and upended it over Ranma's head. Ranma watched, interested, as Ryoga's expression subtly indicated the change in his perception. Ryoga wasn't attracted to Ranma's girl form, or at least he wasn't as long as he knew it was Ranma. Still, there was that slight change in his eyes that indicated that he was looking at an extremely shapely female of the species. Ranma found it a little uncomfortable, even knowing it was all an illusion.

"Okay, now he's a girl." Ryoga said, sounding bored.

"Good, good. Now what if I tell you that Ranma can't possibly be a girl."

"What do you mean, I see her, right there!"

"But Ranma is cured. He went to Jusenkyo and found the Nanniichuan. Didn't he?" She gestured for everyone else to join in, and they did, murmuring their agreement.

"He's all man, now," Nabiki said, appraisingly looking over Ranma's body. Akane felt a little twinge of jealousy, but then she suddenly understood. She put her arm around Ranma, giving him a little wink to let him know to play along. Then she nuzzled up against him, muttering about how manly he was.

"What?" Ryoga looked at Ranma. "You're kidding."

"No! I'm totally cured! No more girl side!" Ranma put on what he hoped was his most believable face. It actually wasn't that hard to fake the elation at being cured, he had been cured, after all. He just recreated the relief he felt two days ago, when he realized he was no longer turning into a girl.

Ryoga's expression suddenly turned shocked. He looked Ranma over, and that subtle tell in his eyes was gone. He was seeing Ranma as a guy again. "You're cured? That's great!" Then he frowned again. "And you didn't save any Nanniichuan for me? Ranma, prepare to die!"

Nabiki interrupted before violence could erupt. "Oh, we brought enough for you. In fact... I had to try a little dunk in the pool myself. Just to see how the other half lives. Want to see?"

Nabiki poured the glass over her head, at which time Ryoga stared at her with a mixture of fascination and revulsion. Nabiki's grin was becoming downright evil again. "I have to admit it's kind of wierd being a guy, but at least I'm a hunk. It could have been a lot worse. You should see what Akane turns into!"

Still grinning wickedly, Nabiki extended the glass out over Akane's head, but Ranma quickly grabbed it, and pulled it back before it could splash her. "DON'T YOU DARE!" He snapped. "That was one of my worse nightmares back when I was cursed, and I'm sure Ryoga must be terrified of it too."

He turned back to Ryoga, who had a look of horror in his eyes. "She's lying, Ryoga. Akane isn't cursed. And neither is Nabiki. I haven't been to Jusenkyo."

Ryoga looked at him, and suddenly his eyes widened. "You're right, you're a girl. But... I just saw you as a guy." He looked back at Nabiki. "And I saw her as a guy. But she's a girl now..."

Akane took his hand again. "Ryoga... believe me. There are no curses. I know you're seeing them, but it's all in your head. We don't know why you're still seeing the curses when we don't, but I'm sure if you stay here for a while, you'll be cured, too."

"It's the power of suggestion," Nabiki said. She looked at Ranma and Akane, then back at Ryoga. "Somehow, if enough people support this delusion, it becomes real. You probably aren't believing us because we aren't effected, and we aren't reacting to the delusions as if they're real. But if we were still effected, we WOULD see what you see, because we would give in to the suggestion."

"As long as our explanations are close enough to your world view, though, you were able to buy into them, and see them. You reject it if it's TOO far from your own belief, but even that can be overcome with a strong enough suggestion."

Nabiki held up one of the glasses. "This is the first one, that turned Ranma into a male. It's cold. Go ahead, touch it, touch the glass, you'll see."

Ryoga put a finger to the glass, and looked confused that it was cold to the touch. "Both glasses were of cold water. Neither should have turned Ranma into a male if he was cursed. He cried out because I kicked him when I was pouring the water over his head. You were convinced that the water was hot... but in truth it wasn't."

There was suddenly a startled cry from Ryoga, and then he stared at Ranma again. "For a second... you were a guy again."

Ranma put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe it's the effect starting to wear off. Or maybe it's just you're starting to question what your seeing. Either way, don't worry. Either it'll wear off on its own in the next few days, like it did for us, or we'll find out why it's still effecting you, and fix it."

"That's right." Akane smiled at him. "The main thing is, we're here for you. We won't let you get lost, so you won't miss your chance to get cured. And we'll take care of you, and try not to let it get too much for you. Probably the anger you feel at Ranma, the fact you get lost all the time, how you're always so depressed, that's probably all of this... whatever it is.

"You'll probably find your real memories coming back to you. You'll find out who you really are. And once you're cured, you'll be able to find your way to Akari, and be able to be with her, if that's what you choose. I know Ranma and I still want to be together. So some of it's real."

Ryoga put a hand to his head. "I feel... I feel wierd. It's like... my thoughts are fuzzy or something." He looked at Ranma, and for a moment, his eyes unfocused. Then he blinked and looked closer, and shook his head. "You were a guy again for a second. What is happening to me?"

"Maybe it's wearing off," Akane said. "Or maybe knowing the truth, or with the rest of us to support what we're saying, you're fighting it." She glanced at Ranma, and he put an arm around the boy.

"Don't worry, buddy," Ranma said. "However this turns out, we'll be here with you."

Ryoga stared at him a moment. He looked down at the arm around his shoulders, and looked flustered, and his nose bled a little. But then he closed his eyes, as if trying to regain control.

"Maybe we'd better get you some hot water for real," Nabiki said. "The suggestion may be enough for Ryoga to see you as male permanently."

She stood up, and fetched a kettle, which Ranma poured over his head. Ryoga seemed to relax as his vision stabilized. Ranma studied him for a long moment.

"You know, I almost envy you." The pig tailed boy had a faraway tone to his voice, even as he looked into Ryoga's eyes. "I kinda miss her. I had gotten used to the idea of never seeing my girl form again, but... I kind of wish I could see what you can see, through your eyes."

"Really?" Akane looked at him, surprised.

Ranma nodded. "I hated my curse when I had it. But now, in retrospect, well, I've gotta say, it had its advantages. I realize it wasn't real or anything... I mean, boys can't turn into girls, really, but..." His voice trailed off, as he tried to put his thoughts into words.

"You could always get a sex change operation, Ranma-chan," Nabiki said with a smirk.

"No, no, I don't mean it like that," Ranma blushed. "It's just... at the time it seemed so horrible, turning into a girl. I think it had to have something to do with the effect we were all under. I was trying so hard to be a macho man all the time, and felt so... well... worthless and weak, being a girl. And afraid of it. And ashamed."

"I think the whole delusion thing kind of blew it out of proportion." He glanced at Akane. "I don't think Akane's weak, not any more. And it honestly wasn't so bad, being a girl. I wouldn't want to be one ALL the time, but it certainly wasn't as bad as I kept SAYING it was." He grinned.

"Thank you, Ranma." Akane smiled at him. "I'm... I'm really glad you're willing to take me seriously now, as a martial artist." Her eyes became a little teary, but she grabbed him in a grateful hug. She paused a moment, then chuckled a bit. "I guess I am kind of going to miss her, too. It was kind of nice having a friend I could go to the beach with, and get ice cream..."

"We can still get ice cream," Ranma said with a smile. "I honestly think all that stuff about 'guys don't eat ice cream' was kind of overdoing it, too. I mean, if I want to have some ice cream with the girl I love, why can't I?"

Akane giggled. "Ranma. Do you really mean it?" She smiled widely.

Ranma grinned back. "Well, I don't think I'll be eating those girly parfaits any more, but yeah..." He winked at her.

As Ranma and the Tendo sisters broke out into laughter, Ryoga stared at them. "You... you have changed..." he muttered.

Akane smiled at him. "Yeah. But it's all right. We're all a lot closer, now. Shampoo, it turns out, is just a normal Japanese girl who happens to be from a Chinese family. Ukyo is a chef who got caught up in all the madness when she opened her restaurant here. There may still be some hard feelings from our past, but..." she looked thoughtful. "I hope we can all be friends now."

"And Akane's dad is going to be reopening the dojo, and offering classes." Ranma clapped a hand on his friend's shoulder. "You can probably take some courses there, to keep up your skills. Back there in the furoba you weren't firing off Shi Shi Hokudans like you thought, but I could tell you're at least a black belt. So you clearly were interested in martial arts before."

There was a short silence, as Ryoga stared at the ground. Then Akane noticed that Nabiki was looking thoughtful. "Hey, Oneechan. What are you thinking?"

Nabiki looked up, startled out of her thoughts. "Oh... it's nothing. I was just..."

She fell silent a moment, and then a cunning smile spread over her face. "I think I have an idea. Yes. I think you'll like this. I'll be in my room. Let me know when it's time for dinner." She got up and disappeared up the stairs, leaving the rest of the family looking at each other, a little nervously.


	3. Chapter 3

"After the Awakening"

Chapter 3

That afternoon Kasumi rather imperiously asked Ryoga and her father to go to the market, Ryoga to carry the groceries, and Soun to make sure Ryoga didn't get lost. Ranma and Akane were watching TV in the family room, when a chime called their attention to the front door. Kasumi hurried from the kitchen to answer the door, then a few moments later was heard to greet their visitor. "Why, hello, Shampoo! What brings you here? Did someone order take out?"

The young couple glanced at each other, slightly worried. "No, Nabiki called me a couple of hours ago, and asked me to stop by," Shampoo was heard to answer. "I asked Grandmother for a break, and since business is a little slow right now, she said that I could leave."

"Oh." Kasumi's voice was filled with concern, as usual. "I hope that things are not going badly for your business."

"No, it's just always slow at this time on Sundays. Nabiki said it might take a while, so I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time." She paused a moment, then sounded irritated. "Grandmother also says that Mousse and I will be needing to go to school anyway. She may hire some additional help so we will have more time free. I suppose it would be nice..."

"Well, you certainly should not overlook your education, Shampoo. Is everything going well with... how you've been dealing with your new memories? I know Ranma and Akane seem to be adjusting nicely, and I feel a lot more comfortable as well..."

"Yeah, that is true." There was movement from the hall as Shampoo entered and took off her shoes. "I must admit I'm happier being an ordinary Japanese girl rather than Shampoo, the Chinese Amazon."

"Well, that's nice." The smile in Kasumi's voice was obvious. "Why don't you wait in the family room while I tell Nabiki you are here. Ranma and Akane are in there, I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you joined them while you're waiting."

"That would be nice."

A few minutes later, Shampoo entered the family room with Kasumi. "Shampoo is here. Why don't you three visit for a while while I go fetch Nabiki."

Kasumi turned to head up the stairs, while Ranma and Akane rose to greet their visitor. Shampoo smiled a little bashfully at them for a second, and then a wicked grin spread over her face. Suddenly pouncing forward in her best imitation of her former, bouncy self, she wrapped her arms around Ranma in a fierce glomp. "Airen! Shampoo Airen take Shampoo on date?"

Akane's temper started to boil over for a moment, until Shampoo shot her a look of mischief. A smile replaced her frown of fury. She then put her hands on her hips, and said huffily, "Ranma, you pervert! How dare you let her hang all over you like that!"

Ranma was about to panic, when he saw the look on Akane's face. As she winked at him, the joke finally sank in. "But Akane! It's not what it looks like, I swear!"

"Shampoo so happy to see Airen!" Shampoo said, pressing her face against Ranma's chest.

"Ranma! You let go of her this instant!"

"I can't, you uncute tomboy! She's holding me!"

"Ranma no... wait." Akane suddenly stopped. "Hold on, I forgot something." She quickly darted into the kitchen, and came back with a meat tenderizing mallet.

"Ranma no baka!" Akane tapped him on the head with the mallet.

The three teenagers fell to the floor in uproarious laughter. Kasumi, who had just come down the stairs with Nabiki, muttered, "Oh, my," which only made the three laugh all the harder. Nabiki joined in, and then Kasumi as well.

"All we need now is father burying himself in the paper, and Saotome-san holding up a sign saying, 'I'm just a panda'." Nabiki said with a sly grin.

Shampoo let go of Ranma and stepped away from him, looking a little apologetic. "Sorry, but I just couldn't help myself. The look on your face was priceless."

"Yeah, har, har," Ranma said, although he was smiling. "You and the old ghoul, both of you, you're gonna give me a heart attack."

Akane stepped forward to give Shampoo a friendly hug. "So what are you doing here?"

"Well, Nabiki..." Shampoo turned back to look at the middle Tendo sister. "I mean, Mercenary girl ask Shampoo, Shampoo come? Shampoo think it all right, not too busy, Shampoo have time off."

Nabiki rolled her eyes at the Amazon Shampoo act. "I'm glad you could come, Shampoo. I've got everything ready in my room. If you'll just follow me I'll tell you what I have in mind."

Ranma eyed her suspiciously. "What are you up to? ... and how much is it going to cost me?"

Nabiki grinned back at him, but there was a flash of pain in her eyes. "Actually, Ranma, I'm hoping this helps me pay back some of what I owe you."

Now Akane was looking concerned. "What do you mean?"

"It's a surprise, you two," Nabiki smiled, reassuringly. "It'll spoil the surprise if I tell you. Let's just say I think you'll like it. Trust me."

She paused a moment. "I... I realize that's kind of a hard thing for me to ask of you..."

Akane stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. "We do trust you, Nabiki." She stepped back and looked at Shampoo. "Go on ahead. It was nice seeing you."

"I guess we'll see ya in school, huh?" Ranma cut in. "I overheard you tellin' Kasumi about it."

Shampoo nodded. "It will be nice to go to school with friends, I guess." She blushed a little, her bashfulness making a sharp contrast to her former self. Then she dropped back into her ditzy act. "Shampoo see Airen and Kitchen Destroyer tomorrow, then."

Nabiki shook her head. "Come on..." She grabbed Shampoo's hand, and led her up the stairs to her room. After reflexively making sure she wasn't followed, Nabiki closed and locked the door behind her. Then she turned back to Shampoo.

"What you have in mind for Shampoo?" The purple haired girl asked. "You maybe think Shampoo kind of Amazon that like girls?" She smirked playfully.

Nabiki regarded the girl evenly, amused by her brashness, but irritated by the bimbo act. "Okay, I'm going to have to ask you to lay off of that voice. It was just annoying when it was for real. Now it's starting to get on my nerves."

"Sorry." Shampoo dropped back to her normal voice, but was still smiling smugly. "So, what DID you ask me in here for?"

Nabiki walked past her to turn on her computer. "Well, not for that, although just for your information, I'm not exactly opposed to any of that." She cut her eyes at the girl. Although she was loath to admit it, Shampoo's teasing had impressed her. "Nabiki Tendo is not someone that you want to bluff."

Shampoo crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow slyly. "Who says it was a bluff?"

Okay, Shampoo had REALLY impressed her. Nabiki smiled. "Just so long as we understand each other. The thing is, this is what I asked you in here for." She gestured at the computer, then stepped over to her desk drawer and pulled out a digital camera. "I'd like you to model for me, if you don't mind."

"If I don't mind?" Shampoo echoed. She seemed to be considering it. "Is this a... money making scheme?"

Nabiki shook her head. "I don't do that any more. This is for me. For us. For... Ranma and Akane. A... a gift, of sorts." She looked down at the camera in her hands.

"Oh?" Now Shampoo was looking interested.

"I'm quite good at using that to retouch photographs," Nabiki said, gesturing at the computer again. "I wouldn't falsify evidence, of course, I always considered that beneath me. But I have used it to... clarify details in a picture that might not be seen otherwise. To make sure it was good... blackmail material."

Nabiki's eyes took on a haunted look. "I... It's a little disconcerting... realizing what I might have been capable of... before. Kodachi making up that falsified picture of Ranma kissing her, for instance. I could have done that, easily. I guess... the only reason I never did is because... I had some kind of code I followed. Or maybe... just deep down I couldn't bring myself to do it."

She sighed. "Or at least I hope so. So I keep telling myself, so I can... live with myself." She shook her head and looked up at Shampoo. "Anyway, I've got plenty of pictures of all of us together. The good times, and the bad times, the chaos and the conflicts, and all the times when things were just calm, and happy, and everyone was together..."

She stared at the camera again. "It's been a pretty hectic two years. I'm sure you feel the same way. It may have been crazy, and it may have all been an illusion, but there are parts of it I'd rather not forget. Parts that are good memories. That I want to keep."

Shampoo nodded. "I do feel the same way. Even though... I'm kind of realizing I never truly felt what I thought I did for Ranma... and I'm glad Akane and I can be friends now... still." She sat on the bed, studying her hands thoughtfully. "It may have all been... a dream... but it was a good dream."

"I've got some pictures of some of it. Even some of the big battles, although a lot of them don't make any sense. It's like I'm framing the camera on something that isn't there." Nabiki paused a moment, looking at Shampoo. "Or I catch you or one of the other fighters doing something I guess is a chi attack, but the movements and where everyone is standing is not right. It's like looking at a single sentence from a story I once read but forgot, and now out of the context of what I was reading I can't make sense of it."

She looked down at the camera again. "But there are plenty of other pictures. Of all of us together. Having fun. Just being together. It's all pretty nice, most of it. But there's always something missing. Some of the time, half of the time it's fine. But the other half..."

Nabiki looked up at Shampoo. "All of the pictures I've taken of Ranma's girl half, they all show his male half now. Who he really was. The camera captured the event, and things as they were. But... it didn't capture what we SAW."

A grin spread over Shampoo's face. "I... I see. So you want me to... model for... her."

"Yep. I've already made a few preliminary tries, using myself as a model. It worked out pretty well. But I don't have her... build." Uncharacteristically, the admission made Nabiki blush a bit. "You're the closest one I know to how well endowed she was. And it'll look more realistic if I use as much of a real model as possible, and keep the photographic enhancements to a minimum."

"This sounds like fun!" Shampoo said excitedly. Then her expression turned a little more analytical. "You're not thinking of any... candid images, are you?"

Nabiki's blush deepened. "No, I'm not going to do any more of that. Although I've got plenty of shots of Ranma's male half in those situations. I... I don't think so, though, unless he asks me for them." Her mouth turned in a frown. "No one but Ranma and Akane would ever see such pictures anyway. And only if they... if they feel that would be... appropriate."

"I... It makes me feel sick to my stomach just that I even took the pictures in the first place. And I still can't bring myself to look at them..."

Shampoo put a hand on her shoulder. "I understand. Although I've got to admit I'd find it hard to resist the temptation."

Nabiki smirked, looking more like her old self. "I didn't say I wasn't tempted."

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?"

Nabiki turned and started pulling clothing out from under her bed. "Well, I grabbed some of Ranma's stuff while I was getting set up. I want to try and match the pictures as much as I can." Her mouth quirked as she glanced up at Shampoo. "Of, course, you realize that for total realism here, you're going to have to go without a bra..."

Shampoo gave her a coy look. "I may not be a bimbo any more, but I've still got it, and I'm not THAT afraid of flaunting it!"

"Excellent. I think an obvious place to start is here. After all, it was his favorite..."

Nabiki held up a red silk shirt, and Shampoo grinned excitedly.

* * *

On Monday morning, Ranma and Akane hurried to get to class. Nabiki cornered them just long enough to say she wanted to meet with them at lunchtime, and to be somewhere she could find them. When they asked what it was about, she just shook her head. "I told Shampoo she could be there to see your faces," was all she would say.

As homeroom started, it was announced that a police officer would be going around talking to all of the classrooms. The students were advised to wait in their rooms until the officer could come around to them. Homeroom had extended well into the first period, when the officer got around to Ranma and Akane's classroom. He spoke to the teacher shortly, then turned and introduced himself to the class.

"I have something very important to tell all of you. We are making announcements on the local news as well, and going around to most of the neighborhoods in Nerima, but we believe this is the best way to get word around. We would like all of you to take this information home with you to your parents. There is contact information here for anyone who wishes to get in contact with us about any question they have about what we have to tell you."

The teacher began passing out flyers, which Ranma and Akane studied intently, before turning their attention back to the policeman. "A few days ago, we discovered an unknown chemical which was being released into the water supply of Nerima. We have neutralized this chemical, but we have reason to believe it's been in the water for at least two years. Among other effects of this chemical, we believe that it causes delusions and hallucinations. For this reason, many of you, or even all of you, may have been experiencing strange events over the last two years."

The room was suddenly filled with sound, as all of the students began talking at once. Ranma and Akane looked at each other. "That's it." Ranma said. "It's gotta be. That's what happened to us."

Akane nodded. The other kids were looking at the two of them as well, several of those closest to them, including Hiroshi and Yuka, asking them questions. But the police officer gestured for silence.

"As I said, the effect has been neutralized now, and so you should all be returning to normal. You are probably realizing that your experiences of the last two years were not real." The man looked a little uncomfortable. "The truth is, we in the Nerima Police Department were as caught up in all of this as you. We, also, experienced the same things, and believed them just as much. But now, just like you, we're starting to recover our true memories."

The officer paused a moment. "Because of the nature of this chemical, it is likely that most of you experienced a change in memories and personality. This would exaggerate your natural traits, if you were naturally aggressive or short tempered, this would cause you to be even more so." Ranma and Akane both blushed. "In addition, you would find yourself exaggerating events that happened to you, you would react to things in a more extreme manner, and believe them to be more important and life threatening."

"Because of another aspect of this chemical, what delusions were experienced by one person would be picked up and further exaggerated by others. There is a shared nature to this delusion, which we don't fully understand, but in some way beliefs that were encouraged and supported by groups of people would become stronger. This has led to... well, the belief that there are some martial artists in this area that have superhuman powers, and that there were some magical effects occurring in Nerima as well."

Ranma and Akane were really blushing now, but almost unconsciously, their hands sought out each other. They held tightly to each others' hands, seeking comfort in the warm contact. The other students noticed this, and low murmurs started around the room.

"The important thing to remember," the policeman continued, "is that all of these effects are now gone, and they should not trouble you any more. There is no need to be concerned, as the Nerima Police Department has everything well in hand. It may be somewhat disorienting to have your true memories returning, but we recommend you not fight it, and do not be afraid or worried about what you experienced. Just put it behind you, and try to keep calm as we all return to normal."

Hiroshi had raised his hand, and the policeman gestured at him. "Do you have any idea who did this? Is it any of... any of the people who might be enemies of certain people in Nerima?"

Ranma glanced at him. "I'm afraid we cannot reveal that information," the policeman stated. "However, I have been informed that the perpetrator has been arrested, and is being dealt with accordingly. We cannot reveal any more information out of respect for the perpetrator's family."

Hiroshi looked disappointed at this answer, but lowered his arm. The policeman paused a moment, and continued. "Another thing that we would like for you to watch out for is anyone who still seems to be experiencing the delusions. We would expect such a person to be highly irrational, and to be very stubborn about giving up his beliefs. We would ask you not to confront such individuals, but to report them to the police as soon as you can."

Akane raised her hand. "I believe we know one such person. He's staying at our house right now, and he's not really irrational, although he's... well, he's still seeing the delusions. But we're afraid to take him out of the house since..." She glanced at Ranma. "Well, since one of the delusions is that he gets lost really easily. Or at least, we hope it's a delusion."

"When you get home this evening, give us a call, and we will send a car out to your home. We can probably give the victim a treatment while he is at your home. It is just some specially treated water, and we'll have to give you a supply for him to drink for the next few days. But he should recover quickly."

Ranma breathed a sigh of relief, and Akane gave him a smile. "Thank you, officer. We'll do that, thanks."

"Excuse me but... if you don't mind my asking," the officer studied them for a moment. "You are Ranma Saotome and Akane Tendo, aren't you?"

"That's right."

"We um... well, we have been keeping records of your... exploits. As I said, we at the police department were effected as well, so we experienced the same... um... effects as you." He glanced at Ranma. "I take it your... condition... was just an illusion?"

Ranma nodded. "Oh, yeah. I'm not really cursed to turn into a girl." He smiled widely at this. There was more murmuring from behind him, but he ignored it.

The policeman nodded, amused. "We figured as much. As the two of you are experienced martial artists... you are experienced martial artists, right?"

Ranma glanced at Akane, and she gave him a nod. "Yes, that's right. We're both black belts. While it's not the Anything Goes School of Martial Arts..." he paused a moment. "Well, we were both trained by our fathers. And Akane's dad plans to open the Tendo Dojo again real soon."

Akane giggled a bit at his impromptu advertisement. The policeman smiled at him as well. "Well, while you two may not be able to do the superhuman things we apparently thought you could do, you may still have skills that could help us. And since you know most of the people involved in these... well, delusions, we were hoping we could call on you as advisers. Possibly even ask for your help in dealing with folks who are having trouble coming out of the effects."

"We suspect that there may be individuals who were effected, but in a way not as public or obvious as you martial artists. They may need counseling or support in getting their lives back in order. We really don't have those kinds of resources available at the police department, but we are looking to get as much help as we can from neighborhood organizations, like your dojo."

Akane glanced at Ranma for a moment, and then she nodded. "We would be happy to help."

"Excellent. When you call for help for your friend, just give your names to the operator, and ask for me. I'll come over and work out the arrangements."

"All right," the officer said, "Are there any questions?"

All eyes turned on Ranma and Akane. With a snicker, the policeman continued. "Are there any questions for ME?" There was laughter from the room. "In that case, then, you can all go on to your first class. I still have plenty of other students to talk to as well."

The policeman walked out of the room, but this went unnoticed as the students all pounced on Ranma and Akane. The two of them confirmed that yes, they were just normal martial artists and not superhuman, yes, Ranma was no longer cursed and would not be peeping in the girls' locker room (Akane scowled at this, while Ranma protested his innocence) and yes, they were boyfriend and girlfriend and it was nobody else's business but their own. With that, they both then stated they needed to get to class, and left together, still holding hands.

* * *

At lunch, Ranma and Akane sat together under their usual tree, but much closer together than usual. In fact, Ranma made a big show of putting his arm around Akane, and even opening her bento for her. Akane blushed a bit at the attention, but slapped at Ranma's chest and told him to "stop playing around" with all the gentlemanly behavior. Sayuri and Yuka wandered by, obviously wanting to sit with Akane and gossip, but as soon as they noticed the two lovers, they giggled, and Yuka grabbed Sayuri's hand and dragged her away. Akane looked up at Ranma, laughing to herself. Then, as if on impulse, she leaned her head against his shoulder.

"Well, isn't this a sight," Ukyo said, as she approached the couple. Akane sprang away from Ranma, then giggled at herself, and leaned against him again. Ranma looked down at her, amused.

"You wanna join us, Ucchan?" Then his smile drooped. "Oops. Or should I call you that?"

Ukyo shrugged. "Eh, don't worry about it, Ranchan. Maybe all that was an illusion, but we did spend a year and a half together, going through dangers and fighting each other." She grinned at Akane. "I'm glad it's over, but it was fun while it lasted, eh Akane-chan?"

Akane's eyes widened. A huge smile spreading over her face, she muttered, "Yeah, it was... Ucchan."

Ranma was staring at her, his own smile just as bright. When she looked at him, he gave her a quick kiss. "Man you're cute when you smile like that."

"RANMA!" Akane turned as red as a tomato, and looked around wildly to see if anyone was watching. Ranma only smiled wider at her embarrassment.

"So, it's obvious you two aren't fighting it any more," Ukyo commented. She sat down and started unwrapping her own bento.

"Nope. And don't want to any more, either."

"Baka," Akane muttered. "Don't say things like that to me in public..."

"I don't want to fight that any more either," Ranma said. "You're my fiancee, and I don't care who knows it. I don't even care if you're not officially my fiancee any more. I say you are, and that's all that matters."

Somehow, Akane managed to turn even redder. She sat staring at the ground for a few minutes, idly playing with her fingers. And then, as if she couldn't hold back any more, she wrapped her arms around Ranma and hugged him.

"Uncute tomboy," Ranma commented.

"Baka," Akane countered. But she cuddled up closer.

At that moment, Nabiki and Shampoo walked up. Shampoo had a wicked gleam in her eye. "Shampoo think Shampoo rubbing off on Kitchen Destroyer. Kitchen Destroyer glomping on Airen now."

"Airen, wo ai ni," Akane muttered, rubbing her face against Ranma's chest. "Akane's Airen take Akane on date now?"

Ranma rolled his eyes. "Geez, two of them now."

Nabiki chuckled. "Okay, enough of that. I have something I think you'll want to see. You too, Akane." She sat down in front of them, and reached into her purse. Pulling out a photograph, she handed it to Ranma.

Ranma took one look at the photo and went white as a sheet. His mouth hanging open, he could only stammer, "Wha... how... where did you... I thought... where did you GET this?"

"Relax, Ranma, it's just Photoshop." Nabiki put a hand on his shoulder.

The picture was of Ranma. Ranma in his girl form. She was wearing her red silk outfit, and grinning brightly at the camera. She looked breathtakingly beautiful, more so because she was just smiling, happy, enjoying the moment. There were no rivals to bother her, no dangers to threaten her or Akane, no fights between her numerous suitors. There was no concern about being 'manly', no seductive attempts to use her female body for free food. Just Ranma, captured in a moment where she had just been free to be herself, or himself, as the case may be.

"Oh... oh, Ranma." Akane's voice was quiet, as she peered over his shoulder. Ukyo seemed stunned as well. They all stared at the picture, of the girl they all felt was gone, dead and buried with the end of the curse. But there she was, happy and vibrant, her red hair shining in the sunlight, her deep blue eyes glittering with life.

"That's your face, Ranma," Nabiki said. Like Akane, she kept her voice low, almost respectful. "I narrowed your chin some, raised your cheekbones, made your eyes bigger, and much darker blue, of course. You don't really have much by way of stubble, but I cleaned up your complexion, gave you a little softness, much fuller lips..."

"The body is Shampoo's." She gestured at the purple haired Amazon, who was studying Ranma's expression fondly. "I dressed her in some of your outfits so they would be authentic. I had to alter her proportions some, she's not as... compact as you were. And neither are you, really, you were much taller in this picture and so I had to reduce your height some. But we were able to capture some of the way you drew up your clothes around you when in female form, to make them fit you..."

Ranma just stared at the image, as if trying to memorize every feature. "She's... I... I never thought I would see her again."

His eyes began to glisten, and Akane noticed. "Ranma? Are you... are you crying?"

"No, of course not!" He protested, out of habit, but then he fell silent. "Yeah. I guess maybe I am."

Akane wrapped her arms around him. "She was so beautiful. I was so jealous of her, but... I guess I was beginning to miss her too, huh?" She wiped her eyes. "Silly of me, I guess."

"Nah." Ukyo studied the picture as well. "She was... she was so much a part of our lives. She may have been Ranma, but..."

A sad silence fell over the group. When Nabiki spoke again, she was still quiet, as if unwilling to disturb their thoughts. "I was... I was actually wondering if we all saw her the same way. In a way I... I wanted to recreate her while I still remembered her. Before the memories faded too much. I was hoping I could... make her look the way I saw her... in my mind's eye."

"She's perfect," Ranma told her. "Absolutely... perfect." He looked around at the others. "Is that the way you saw her too?"

Ukyo nodded, and Akane squeezed him tightly. "It's her. That's exactly the way I saw her." Akane sniffled a little. "The eyes, that smile..." She buried her face against Ranma's side. "That's exactly her."

Ranma glanced down at her. Nabiki, in the meantime, nodded. "I guess that proves it. I'm not really sure how, but somehow we must have been able to see the same thing. I kind of suspected it with Ryoga, but somehow... when we share a delusion, we really SHARE it."

She paused a moment, thinking. "Actually... when Ranma first came to our home, I seem to remember she had black hair. Yet, at some time it became red, and my memories seemed to say it had always been red. The discrepancy never occurred to me until now. I guess somehow we collectively settled on the impression that Ranma's girl form had red hair. And once agreed upon, it became hard to change, as with Ryoga..."

"Anyway, that was really what gave me the idea. When you said you wished you could see through Ryoga's eyes." Nabiki grinned. She reached back into her purse, and produced another photograph.

This one was of Ranma-chan with Akane, Ukyo and Shampoo. They were all standing together, and laughing. There was that tension between them, as there always was, but for the moment they seemed to have put that aside. They were all wearing bathing suits, and obviously enjoying a day at the beach. Again, Ranma looked happy, glad to be with his friends, even if he had to be in female form to do it. Another picture was produced, of Ranma with the Tendo sisters. She looked uncomfortable, but somehow cute in her embarrassment.

The third picture, however, immediately produced peals of laughter. It was Ranma and Akane, and Akane was pounding Ranma over the head. Ranma had that look on her face that said she had obviously said something stupid, and Akane was furious. Akane smiled fondly as she studied the picture. She remembered that fight, although she couldn't remember what Ranma had said. It was kind of funny seeing her old self, seemingly blowing everything out of proportion, and Ranma, looking wild-eyed and surprised, completely oblivious to when he was being a jerk.

As Nabiki produced the next photo, though, she watched Ranma and Akane carefully. Akane let out a startled gasp. She put both hands to her mouth, then buried her face against Ranma's shoulder. She put her arms around him, squeezing him almost painfully, and then began shaking as she started to sob. Ranma returned her embrace, stroking her hair with one hand, while he studied the picture with the other.

It was Ranma and Akane, right after the previous scene. Akane had settled down, and was looking away from the red haired girl, in tears. Unnoticed by her, Ranma was giving her a look of such longing and pain that her feelings were crystal clear. One of her hands was up, as if to touch Akane's shoulder, and yet she was clearly hesitating. It was a moment that captured the aftermath of their fight perfectly, regret and torment etched deeply into both of their faces.

"You okay?" Nabiki asked, stroking Akane's shoulder. Akane nodded, although she kept crying. "Ranma's feelings were always so much clearer in his girl form. That was one of the things I noticed going through the pictures. It was almost easy to tell which were the ones of him as a girl."

"I'm sorry, Ranma..." Akane muttered, still holding him as tightly as she could.

"I am too, 'Kane."

"Well, that's the only real tear-jerker in the group, at least this time," Nabiki said. Her tone was a bit cynical, but only to lighten the mood. "I've got about fifteen more than I'm thinking of working on, but it'll take me a while to finish them." She glanced at Shampoo. "And Shampoo talked me into some cheesecake shots, although I'm not sure what photos she's thinking of using with them. I want to clear it with you guys that you'd even want me to Photoshop the photos that are like that, though."

"Cheesecake?" Ranma asked, obviously confused.

"The shots I was selling to the boys. You know, Ranma-chan in... well, somewhat skimpy garb." In fact, most of them were topless, although Nabiki wasn't going to say that. They were from the back, anyway, Nabiki would never have worked in full nudes. Although it had worried her how enthusiastic Shampoo had been about being photographed in similar poses.

"I'd never sell them now, of course, but I thought you might like to see them." She grinned knowingly. "Whether for nostalgia, or just as an ego boost. Or just as a reminder of how hot your female side COULD be."

Ranma frowned a bit. "I dunno. I mean, I remember some of the pictures you took were pretty nice, but... I couldn't really see MYSELF as attractive. Even as a girl, it's kind of wierd to see my face... on that body. You know what I mean?"

"Sure. Of course, there's also the possibility Akane might like to see them." Nabiki grinned at her sister with even more mischief in her eyes.

Akane looked up at her. She was still holding Ranma, and although she had stopped crying, there were still tear streaks under her eyes. "What do you mean? I was... jealous of him. He had... bigger breasts than I did. And wouldn't stop teasing me about it." She slapped him lightly, not really upset, but just to make the point. "I don't want to see THAT."

"Are you sure? There is the fact that she's not around any more. She's not bigger than you NOW." Nabiki smirked.

Akane looked a little unsure. "I guess... I dunno. Maybe... maybe Ranma and I will talk about it. Later."

"Sure." Nabiki nodded. "The originals aren't going anywhere anyway." She fished around in her purse some more. "Oh, yeah, I have copies of the group shot for all of you."

She produced some pictures, both the one at the beach and the one of Ranma alone, and handed them to Ukyo and Shampoo. Then she handed a larger stack to Akane. "I made you the full set. I thought you'd appreciate them."

Akane quickly looked through the pictures for the one of Ranma by herself, and stared at it. "This is the one I wanted to see again, the one just of her." She bit her lip. "This is the way I want to remember her. Smiling and happy, not upset or hurt..."

Suddenly, Akane laughed, then sniffled again. "Listen to me. I'm talking like she's dead or something. You're right here, Ranma..."

Ranma put his arm around her, pulling her tightly against him. "It's okay. I understand, believe me. I feel the same way."

Nabiki smiled at the two of them for a second, as Akane continued to stare at the picture. "I always thought you were a little TOO jealous of her figure. Like you were trying to convince us all of it. My baby sister wasn't getting a little attracted to another girl, there, was she?" Although her tone was teasing, there was that subtle smugness Nabiki used when trying to dig down to the heart of a matter.

Akane looked at her, startled. "No!" Then, more thoughtfully, she looked back at the picture. "It's not like that. I just..." Her eyes started to tear up again.

"You..." Ranma gave her shoulder a squeeze. "Did you fall in love with her, first? I'd understand if you said you did..."

She looked up at him, surprised again, with tears rolling down her cheeks. "No! No..." She put a hand up to touch his face. "I fell in love with you, Ranma. You."

Akane turned back to the picture, and studied the redhead's face for a moment. "Sure, I saw that smile first in your girl form. In the dojo, when you laughed. You smiled so rarely... It took a long time before I saw it again, in your guy form."

Ranma grinned at her, remembering, as she looked back at him. "But it's the same smile. You're giving it to me right now." She smiled back. "It's that shy, kind of unsure smile. Confident, but still a little afraid. Warm. Caring." She caressed his cheek again. "Loving."

"It took me a long time to see that smile again, that I saw on that girl I asked to be my friend." She studied him, searching his eyes. "It took a lot longer for me to convince myself that it wasn't a trick, that it wasn't some pervert boy trying to trick stupid, gullible Akane. But you finally got through to me." She leaned upward, and gently kissed him.

She looked down at the picture again, at those blue eyes, so open and alive with excitement. "Maybe... your female form let you... open up your heart a little. Maybe enough for me to see... that this was someone I could love."

Ranma caressed her hair. "I... well, as I said, you were pretty cute when you smiled, that first day. I guess I wanted to see that smile, too. I didn't know that you..." He blushed a little. "That... that meant a lot to me, you know."

Akane leaned her head against him. "It meant a lot to me, too."

"Aw, isn't that sweet!" Shampoo gushed.

Ukyo chuckled. "Did you two forget you have an audience?"

"It gets old after a while..." Nabiki commented sourly. "I think we'd better leave the lovebirds alone."

Giggling, the three girls got up and headed into the school. Akane and Ranma turned a bit pink, but gave no other sign they'd heard the interruption. After a few moments, the two were lost in kissing each other, and weren't aware of anything else until the bell called them back to class after lunch.

THE END

* * *

Author's Notes:

I realized, since this is based on MZephyr's original story, and I do not explain where the "unknown chemical" in the water supply came from, that some readers may be concerned about it. In fact, it was revealed in the original story that this was Kodachi's doing. It's my guess that Kodachi had been doing this for several years, probably to experiment with some of her drugs, and got caught up in her own delusions. From that point on, she probably continued to drug the water as part of her delusion. In the original story she was arrested and sent to a mental institution, which is what the police officer is referring to above when he says "the perpetrator has been dealt with".


End file.
